No one could predict Michael Jackson’s rise to becoming the “King of Pop” when he was singing “ABC” as a member of The Jackson 5 — not even Suzanne de Passe, the woman responsible for giving him his big break.
The Motown icon, however, said signing the future “Thriller” singer and his brothers was a no brainer, and she did know that Michael was special.
“How did I know [they had the ‘it’ factor]? Well, you’d have to be really stupid to miss that one,” she told us at a talk Page Six moderated at the historic Harbor View Hotel in Martha’s Vineyard to celebrate the famed exec’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Still, “I did not know, nor did anyone know the trajectory that ultimately…. he would become the ‘King of Pop,’ and all that,” she said.
But it was foreseeable to de Passe that Jackson’s star would eventually outshine his older brothers.
“I knew very early on that Michael’s talent was going to certainly eclipse his brothers,” she said.
“I think the work ethic that was part of the DNA of Motown… carried with him when he left. He had that from a very early age — that it takes hard work and it takes dedication — it takes that kind of energy to not accept less,” de Passe explained.
She would know.
The music legend shepherded acts like The Jackson 5. After convincing famed founder Berry Gordy to sign the youngsters, de Passe was responsible for “buying them a house, rehearsing them, dressing them, coming up with [routines] to do on the live shows, what songs to learn and all of that,” she said.
Jackson left the band after the massive success of his sixth studio album, “Thriller.”
His fame and talent had overshadowed his brothers. In fact, “If I had any real observation about how difficult it was going to become for him, I think it had to do a lot with the fact that his brothers, over time, became alienated by his success, and his parents didn’t know what to do with that,” de Passe said.
“There was a retreat from the congeniality that they had when they first got [to Motown], on his part. I think he… really wanted to distance himself from that energy,” she added.
De Passe’s work in helping shape Motown has earned her a spot on the list of the hall of fame class of 2024: On Oct. 19, she’ll become the fifth woman to be honored with the Ahmet Ertegun award.
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